The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

Luna's life starts out in sorrow. As the last child born before the "Day of Sacrifice" she is destined to be given over to the terrible Witch who lives in the forest as an offering to ensure the well-being of the whole village for another year. Instead of being destroyed, however, Luna is "enmagicked" by the kindly witch and raised as her granddaughter. Meanwhile Luna's bereaved mother and a discontented council member strive to bring an end to the annual sacrifice and to the evil force behind it.

Here is a book that is on every Mock Newbery list I have seen this year, and rightly so. The writing and carefully woven plot stand out among other books I have read recently. All that said, I didn't love, love, love, the book. I didn't really feel that I got to know the main character, Luna, very much. She seems more like a literary devise than a real person. The book as a whole is very artsy, but I think that some committees like the artsy, literary, books. I will probably recommend this book to the veteran fantasy readers as something different and emotionally sophisticated. (388 p.)